‘JeI participation in elections vindicates our stand’
Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Sept 2: National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah today alleged that the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) maintains a close relationship with National General Secretary of Bharatiya Janata Party Ram Madhav and suggested that the BJP may have sent him to facilitate collaboration ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.
Omar made these remarks while speaking to reporters in Ganderbal, where he was accompanying Mian Mehar Ali, the party’s candidate for the Kangan constituency, as he filed his nomination papers.
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Omar said that he could not comment on Ram Madhav’s real intentions in visiting the region-only the BJP could clarify that-but he insisted that if any political party has good relations with Ram Madhav, it is the PDP.
He recalled that Madhav, who was recently named by the party as the election In-charge for Jammu and Kashmir, was instrumental in forging the PDP-BJP alliance in 2014 and speculated that he might have been sent again for a similar purpose.
“There is no doubt in this that if any political party here has good relations with Ram Madhav, it is PDP because he was responsible for bringing PDP and BJP under one platform as he forged the alliance, and perhaps he has been sent here again for the same purpose,” he said.
He added that the BJP has close ties with Satya Pal Malik, as they appointed him Governor, and whatever happened in 2019 was carried out through him.
On Jamaat-e-Islami’s decision to contest elections, Omar suggested that their willingness to enter the electoral arena indicated a shift in their ideology. “Ideologies evolve. Now that elections are here, they are ready to contest. In the past, whenever we participated in elections, they called for a boycott. Our stance has been vindicated. We warned before the ’90s that the situation would worsen, leading to bloodshed and filled graveyards, but that Jammu and Kashmir would not be separated by such means,” he said.
He added that despite criticism and targeting, the National Conference’s position has now gained validation. “We have always maintained that our goals can be achieved through democracy. If they now believe in democracy and want to contest elections, regardless of the party they choose, it is a significant victory for us,” he said.
He emphasized the importance of hard work in the upcoming elections, noting that the party’s young members are eager to serve the people. “They have inherited a passion for public service, but they know that to win the election, they need both divine favour and the trust of the voters. They must convince the electorate that they will represent and serve them as MLAs for the next five years, especially considering the worsening situation over the past five years,” he said.
On the issue of the reckless opening of liquor shops, Omar reiterated the party’s stance that such openings should be halted and reviewed.
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